How Patent Trolls Really Work

I've been asserting for at least six years that patent system is completely broken for the software industry. I've given numerous examples, dealt with the issue first hand as patent trolls have tried to extort many of the companies I'm an investor in, and I've had many public discussions about the topic.

On my run on Sunday, I listed to This American Life - When Patents Attack… Part Two! It is easily the best and most detailed expose I've ever heard on this issue. If you care to really understand how patent trolls work, spend an hour of your life and listen to it.

"In 2011, Apple and Google spent more money on patent litigation and defensive patent acquisitions than on research and development. That's not a good sign for the U.S. economy; in fact, it's a stark indication that our intellectual-property system is broken. Rampant patent litigation is impeding innovation and ultimately increasing the costs of gadgets for consumers, according to legal experts and industry observers. Now President Obama says he wants to reform the system."

All of this is shining a bright light on a deeply rooted problem that has spiraled completely out of control and has become an enormous tax on innovation in the United States. While I don't believe Obama's executive orders go nearly far enough, they are a start in something that has been ignored by the White House and our government for far too long.